Despite their 5-1 recently-completed road trip, the Cardinals still aren't getting much respect at a national Level. The latest edition of the Yahoo Sports power rankings slots the Cardinals as the 14th best team in baseball, right in the middle of the pack of mediocrity and immediately behind the 13th place Pirates . Their records support the idea that the Bucs and the Birds are about the same quality of team. They're virtually tied in the standings, separated by a thousandth of a percentage point because Pittsburgh's played a couple less games.

We have our first media blow-up, therefore, baseball season has officially started. St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa barked at media members for their line of questioning about the Cardinals’ early struggles with offense. The Cardinals lost a 3-1 contest to the Pittsburgh Pirates dropping their overall record to 2-4. Check around the 3:35 mark to watch LaRussa’s rant. “For everybody listening out there, you think I’m being unreasonable? It’s the first week of the season.

What had several chances to be a straightforward come-from-behind victory for the Cardinals instead had to take numerous dramatic turns and puzzling twists to get there. Rookie pitcher Joe Kelly, an unlikely offensive contributor thrust into pinch-hit duty by a lineup glitch, outran an infield single to push home the winning run in the Cardinals' 8-7 victory Monday against the Miami Marlins . The Cardinals scored six of their runs in the ninth and 10th innings, including a two-out, two-run homer by Yadier Molina to tie the score in the ninth.

In the ninth inning of what would become an 8-7 victory Monday, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny notified home plate umpire Bob Davidson that he was going to make a double switch to get pitcher Victor Marte in the game. Matheny said a few experienced managers have told him to write the new names onto the lineup card with the umpire looking. At the plate, he wrote Marte into the seventh spot in the order for David Freese and Tyler Greene into the No. 9 spot, playing second.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny could have experienced a number of feelings as he watched a friend of the family, former Westminster Academy pitcher Jacob Turner , take his first turn against the Cardinals here Thursday. But Matheny, after the Cardinals' 2-1 loss in 10 innings, said, "I was feeling, 'How are we going to get a win today?' "I know he's going to have a long career. Today ... I wanted to see him give up a bunch of runs early. That's what I wanted to see. "That's what my job is. That's what our job is. " Cardinals hitters had praise for the 21-year-old Turner, who pitched around five walks and four hits in five innings, permitting only one run. Skip Schumaker said, "I thought he did good job keeping the ball down, keeping it out of the middle of the plate.

Yes, Virginia, the Cardinals have a sweep. Restrained by a weird season-long gravity for five innings, the NL Central leaders broke free Wednesday with a two-run sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. A two-run pinch-hit double by rookie Matt Carpenter helped turn an eventful, at times uncomfortable start from Kyle Lohse into a 7-2 win before an announced crowd of 27,710 at Chase Field. The Cardinals' fourth straight win gave them their first series sweep of the season and lifted them a season-most nine games over .500.

Speaking before a game a few days earlier, manager Clint Hurdle rapped his knuckles on his desk before saying that the Pirates had not yet taken a hard beating this season. Wednesday, whatever luck was gained by knocking on wood ran out. The St. Louis Cardinals pounded line drive after line drive off A.J. Burnett and racked up 12 runs in the first three innings. Rafael Furcal started the show with a leadoff single, and the Cardinals never slowed. It ended as a 12-3 loss at Busch Stadium, one night after the Cardinals reached Charlie Morton and the bullpen for 10 runs.

There are few secrets in the Cardinals' early-season formula that has lifted them to first-place in the National League Central: Use the league's most prolific offense to score first by whatever means available, then turn the lead over to the league's second-most protective starting rotation. Score more than three runs and success is typically assured. The Cardinals asserted that strategy Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium but were stymied by the Pittsburgh Pirates and slow-moving lefthander Erik Bedard.

PHOENIX _ Rightfielder Carlos Beltran took care of Tuesday night's first two innings. Starting pitcher Jake Westbrook handled the rest. Offering two-sided dominance, the Cardinals handled the Arizona Diamondbacks for a second consecutive night, but this time without Monday's late-inning suspense. A 6-1 win before an announced crowd of 30,156 at Chase Field offered supporting evidence why the defending World Champions are equipped to thrive just as well outside the National League Central as in. Beltran, the roster's de facto replacement for free agent defector Albert Pujols, blistered Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy for the 32nd multi-home run game of his career and in only the game's opening two frames.

In the ninth inning of what would become an 8-7 victory Monday, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny notified home plate umpire Bob Davidson that he was going to make a double switch to get pitcher Victor Marte in the game. Matheny said a few experienced managers have told him to write the new names onto the lineup card with the umpire looking. At the plate, he wrote Marte into the seventh spot in the order for David Freese and Tyler Greene into the No. 9 spot, playing second.

MIAMI – The Cardinals' bullpen was bad. The Marlins ' bullpen found a way to be worse. Mark Salas and Eduardo Sanchez combined to issue four walks (one intentional) during a four-run Marlins' seventh that should have iced the win over the Cardinals. Instead, the Cardinals scored an unearned run in the eighth off Steve Cishek and tacked on four clean ones in the ninth off Heath Bell to tie it. Rafael Furcal in the 10th contributed a one-out, opposite-field, RBI-double and pinch-hitting pitcher Joe Kelly knocked in another with a bases-loaded infield-single.

If May and early June's narrative became about a team losing its religion on offense, the last three days at Kauffman Stadium were all about a revival. A Cardinals team too accustomed to rallies with vague beginnings and predictable endings completed a transformational weekend with Sunday's 11-8 win over the Kansas City Royals . Badly in need of traction, the Cardinals overcame a troubled start and two lost leads to return to three games above .500 (38-35) for the first time since May 31. An offense used to doing less with more this time stretched eight hits into 11 runs.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny could have experienced a number of feelings as he watched a friend of the family, former Westminster Christian Academy pitcher Jacob Turner , take his first turn against the Cardinals here Thursday. But Matheny, after the Cardinals' 2-1 loss in 10 innings, said, "I was feeling, 'How are we going to get a win today?' "I know he's going to have a long career. Today ... I wanted to see him give up a bunch of runs early. That's what I wanted to see. "That's what my job is. That's what our job is. " Cardinals hitters had praise for the 21-year-old Turner, who pitched around five walks and four hits in five innings, permitting only one run. Skip Schumaker said, "I thought he did good job keeping the ball down, keeping it out of the middle of the plate.

ST. LOUIS _ They've completed almost 20 percent of their season and the St. Louis Cardinals are hitting well enough to spot American League teams the designated hitter and still lead them in runs scored. After outscoring opponents by 70 runs en route to 90 wins last season, this year's team enjoys a plus-75 run differential after just 31 games. No one else in the National League is better than plus-24. By comparison, the Cardinals won 105 games with a plus-196 differential in 2004 and 100 games with a plus-171 in 2005.

Yes, Virginia, the Cardinals have a sweep. Restrained by a weird season-long gravity for five innings, the NL Central leaders broke free Wednesday with a two-run sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. A two-run pinch-hit double by rookie Matt Carpenter helped turn an eventful, at times uncomfortable start from Kyle Lohse into a 7-2 win before an announced crowd of 27,710 at Chase Field. The Cardinals' fourth straight win gave them their first series sweep of the season and lifted them a season-most nine games over .500.

PHOENIX _ Yes, Virginia, the St. Louis Cardinals have a sweep. Restrained by weird season-long gravity for five innings, the NL Central leaders broke free Wednesday night with a two-run sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. A two-run pinch-hit double by rookie Matt Carpenter turned an eventful, at times nervous start from Kyle Lohse into a 7-2 win before a crowd announced at 27,710 at Chase Field. The Cardinals' fourth straight win gave them their first series sweep of the season and lifted them a season-most nine games above .500 (20-11)